What is Double Elimination?
Double elimination is a tournament format where a team must lose twice to be eliminated. The tournament splits into two brackets after the first round:
🏆 Winners Bracket
Teams that haven't lost yet compete here. Losing moves you to the losers bracket.
🔄 Losers Bracket
Teams with one loss fight for survival. Lose here and you're eliminated.
How Double Elimination Works
- 1First Round
All teams play in the winners bracket. Winners advance, losers drop to losers bracket.
- 2Parallel Play
Both brackets run simultaneously. Losers bracket receives new teams each round from winners bracket losses.
- 3Grand Finals
Winners bracket champion vs losers bracket champion. Both have one "life" remaining.
- 4Bracket Reset (if needed)
If losers bracket champion wins, a second "reset" match is played since the winners bracket team hasn't lost yet.
Pros and Cons of Double Elimination
Advantages
- ✅ Second chance for every team
- ✅ More games = more practice/fun
- ✅ Reduces impact of bad matchups
- ✅ True champion emerges
- ✅ Exciting comeback stories
Disadvantages
- ❌ Nearly twice as many matches
- ❌ Longer tournament duration
- ❌ More complex to schedule
- ❌ Bracket reset can feel anticlimactic
- ❌ Teams may wait long between games
How Many Matches in Double Elimination?
Double elimination requires significantly more matches than single elimination:
| Teams | Single Elim | Double Elim (min) | Double Elim (max) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 teams | 7 matches | 14 matches | 15 matches |
| 16 teams | 15 matches | 30 matches | 31 matches |
| 32 teams | 31 matches | 62 matches | 63 matches |
*The "max" includes the bracket reset match if the losers bracket champion wins the first grand final.
When to Use Double Elimination
✅ Great For
- • Esports and gaming tournaments
- • Fighting game competitions
- • When fairness is critical
- • Skilled competitors who deserve multiple chances
- • Multi-day events with time available
❌ Not Ideal For
- • Single-day events with time constraints
- • Casual/recreational tournaments
- • Very large tournaments (64+ teams)
- • Sports with physical fatigue concerns
- • When simplicity is important
The Grand Finals: Bracket Reset Explained
The grand finals is unique in double elimination because of the bracket reset rule:
Scenario A: Winners Bracket Champion Wins
Tournament ends immediately. The undefeated team is champion.
Scenario B: Losers Bracket Champion Wins
Both teams now have 1 loss. A "reset" match determines the true champion.
Create Your Double Elimination Bracket
Our free bracket generator handles all the complexity of double elimination - just enter your teams and we'll create both brackets automatically.
Free bracket generatorPrefer a format overview? Open the free bracket maker or the dedicated double elimination bracket generator.